Advocates say cockfighting bust in East Tennessee calls attention to 'weak' state law

Animal welfare advocates say a weekend raid of a cockfight in Union County is the latest example of why state lawmakers need to make the penalty for fighting game roosters a felony in Tennessee.Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, said 98 individuals were cited for a misdemeanor offense at a cockfighting event, which included children as spectators, near Maynardville on Saturday. He said more than 250 roosters were involved in the event."This is another example of how rampant cockfighting is in Tennessee and Alabama," Pacelle said. "We are just scratching the surface. Union County exposes this barely underground activity."Pacelle also said Monday that toughening the penalties for cockfighting could also help stop the spread of avian flu and the costly impact it has had on poultry and egg prices."Cockfighting is not only illegal and barbaric, but it is associated with gambling, narcotics trafficking, and other crimes," Pacelle said. "It also poses a threat to commercial poultry production, with widespread movement of potentially infected cockfighting roosters adding fire to the current avian influenza outbreak and putting the price of eggs out of reach for thousands of Tennesseans."A recent report from the Center for a Humane Economy has found that 10 of the 15 cases of Newcastle disease outbreaks recorded in the United States in recent years originated from illegally smuggled game fowl for cockfighting."Cockfighting drives outbreaks of serious poultry and zoonotic diseases, especially virulent Newcastle disease and highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses," said Jim Keen, who formerly worked at U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Meat Animal Research Center.Pacelle said legislation sponsored by state Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, would bring an end to Tennessee's reputation for having one of the weakest cockfighting laws in the nation. He also noted Monday that Alabama has the distinction of having the weakest cockfighting law on the books.Cockfighting is now a felony in 42 states.Under current Tennessee law, it is a misdemeanor offense in for a person to "be knowingly present, as a spectator, at any place or building where preparations are being made for an exhibition for the fighting, baiting or injuring of any animal."Those convicted of the Class A misdemeanor can now face imprisonment of up to 11 months and 29 days, a maximum fine of $2,500 or both.Passage of Lundberg's bill would make cockfighting a Class E felony, the same penalty that applied before lawmakers changed the law more than two decades ago. It would also establish a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000 when such offense involves a cockfight attended by spectators.Senate Bill 0194/House Bill 0285 calls for changing the penalties from the current Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony for:• Owning, possessing or training any bird for the purpose of cockfighting.• Causing for amusement, sport or personal gain a rooster to fight or injure another animal.• Permitting any of the aforementioned acts to be conducted on any premises under a person's charge or control.Similar cockfighting bills sponsored by Lundberg have stalled in the last decade after being sent to the state House Agriculture Committee. Last year, an effort to make the penalty for fighting game roosters a felony was derailed in the state House Criminal Justice Subcommittee, which voted in March to send it to a summer study committee.HB0285, which is sponsored by state Rep. Sam Whitson, R-Franklin, has also been assigned to a hearing in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee.Tennessee has long been identified as a key destination in what the Humane Society of the United States has called the "cockfighting corridor," which includes Mississippi, Alabama and Kentucky. Law enforcement officials also say Tennessee has become a major exporter of fighting roosters to locations around the world.Officials with the Animal Wellness Action and Animal Wellness Foundation have released a report detailing individuals in Tennessee and Alabama with an extensive involvement in cockfighting, including several who ship cockfighting birds to Mexico, the Philippines, Guam and other foreign locations."The notion that these people are just breeders is just fiction," Pacelle said. "There is no distinction between fighters and breeders."